How did America reach shutdown? GWU professor talks budget battle

Published: Thursday, October 3, 2013 at 12:26 PM.

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At midnight Tuesday, the U.S. government shut down nonessential functions as federal elected leaders could not agree on a spending plan.

The words “government shutdown” have filled news headlines in the days that have followed.

So, what does the government shutdown mean for your future?

When’s the last time such a shutdown happened?

Gardner-Webb University political science professor Dr. Ben Gaskins recently broke down the shutdown and the coming American debt debate in an interview with WGWG. Here are excerpts from that interview, courtesy of the university.

What does it mean when we hear government shutdown?

Gaskins: It means a number of things. Basically, it means that all nonessential government functions and government employees are going to end for the time being. All nonessential government employees will be furloughed without pay for the time being.

At midnight Tuesday, the U.S. government shut down nonessential functions as federal elected leaders could not agree on a spending plan.

The words “government shutdown” have filled news headlines in the days that have followed.

So, what does the government shutdown mean for your future?

When’s the last time such a shutdown happened?

Gardner-Webb University political science professor Dr. Ben Gaskins recently broke down the shutdown and the coming American debt debate in an interview with WGWG. Here are excerpts from that interview, courtesy of the university.

What does it mean when we hear government shutdown?

Gaskins: It means a number of things. Basically, it means that all nonessential government functions and government employees are going to end for the time being. All nonessential government employees will be furloughed without pay for the time being.

This may affect some loans, aid and other programs?

Gaskins: Any loans that have federal backing, potentially student loans as well and trying to get student loans from federal agencies. It’s really unclear the extent to which the shutdown will affect these kinds of daily issues, from food stamps and other federal welfare programs. It’s unclear whether or not they’ll be stopped or not. Definitely new applications for aid will be significantly slowed down. Applying for passports will be slowed down as well.

How did we get to the shutdown?

Gaskins: Shutting down the government has historically been the threat of last resort when there cannot be an agreement about budgets. Budgets are fundamentally what our Congress is supposed to do. They are supposed to authorize taxing and spending. This is one of the most contentious things our government has to do. When the Senate and house can’t get together and agree on a level of funding, the government will go into shutdown because there is no continued funding that will allow the government to work.

When was the last major shutdown?

Gaskins: In 1995, which is the last big shutdown, this was seen as a battle between (President Bill) Clinton and Newt Gingrich and his Republican Congress. It was mostly a fight over the political direction of the country, where Clinton wanted to spend on social welfare programs at a much higher rate than Republicans did and Republicans wanted to significantly scale back the level of spending. There have been a number of other shutdowns very briefly. The vast majority of shutdowns over history have been one to three days. The one in 1995 was relatively anomalous because of its length. It lasted about a month.

Is it just media hype, or is there more gridlock in Washington?

Gaskins: Yes, to some degree polarization is far more at the elite level. The media definitely plays a role in hyping this up because it makes a good story, the “us versus them” or the “one side versus the other.” You’ll see the media talking far more about who’s winning the debate than the substance of the policies. But really what it comes down to is not just the media, but the districts look twice as polarized than they did in 1995 when we had the 21-day shutdown. So it’s not surprising the House and Senate could not come to an agreement.

Is it a coincidence Obamacare is part of the shutdown conversation?

Gaskins: It’s kind of an unhappy coincidence where Obamacare really starts becoming in effect at the same point last year’s continuing (budget) resolution expires. So it means that Obamacare becomes a much bigger part of the budget and funding the government than it would be if they hadn’t happened to coincide so perfectly.

Polls show public opinion of Congress at historic lows. How long is this gridlock going to last?

Gaskins: That’s the million-dollar question. Right now, it seems no side is in the mood to compromise. The Democrats and President Obama are not going to sign a law they’ve said on any kind of budget that defunds Obamacare. The Obamacare exchanges are going through as planned, so the shutdown does not in any way limit the rollout of Obamacare, which is somewhat of an irony in this situation.

Right now it seems like the Republicans are yearning for a fight. We saw a few members of the more conservative wing of the party almost giddy about the prospects of a shutdown because their constituents are itching for a fight, and they have it.

More moderate members of the Republican Party are far more nervous because they realize going back to 1995 when there is a shutdown, especially given how popular Congress is, Congress is going to get the blame.

How could the shutdown impact future elections?

Gaskins: Already, polls are showing that Republicans in Congress, specifically the House, are more to blame for the shutdown than President Obama. Whether that’s fair or accurate, that’s the perception, so that’s what people are going to vote based on. It doesn’t appear Congress is doing themselves any favors by not coming to a compromise and not funding the government. The approval rating is going to get worse. And likely, come next election, it might backfire on the Republicans, especially those who are in more vulnerable seats, because more people are tending to blame the Republicans in the House for the shutdown than they are for the Democrats, the Republicans in the Senate or President Obama.

How long could this shutdown last?

Gaskins: It wouldn’t surprise me if it went on as long as the last shutdown did. That shutdown was about the direction of the country. So is this shutdown. There is no mood at the moment to compromise on the big issue, which is Obamacare. So it could go on quite some time, but I don’t think it will. At a certain point within the next week or so, there will be another Band-Aid that is passed. We’ve seen really over the course of Obama’s entire presidency us going Band-Aid to Band-Aid. There will eventually be some kind of compromise that allows Obamacare to move forward, but will provide concessions potentially on other spending areas, the big one being the raising of the debt ceiling.

How will the debt ceiling impact us?

Gaskins: That’s the looming crisis that will honestly have a far greater effect on our economy and the ability of our government to function. Hopefully there will be a compromise that solves the government shutdown and also deals with raising the debt limit. It’s possible that Obama will allow the Republicans to exact some concessions about the rollout of Obamacare, the individual mandate to some degree. They’re going to have to have some deep conversations, and I’m not optimistic right now those conversations are going to lead to anything. But I think the general feeling in the public is one of absolute disgust. You see words like disgust and disgrace being thrown around a lot. I think enough of the American people are fed up with the way the government is operating that the cooler heads will prevail.

Can we expect more battles?

Gaskins: Right now it’s really anyone’s guess. That’s a bad place to be. It makes the country seem very uncertain, it makes the markets very uncertain, it makes the political sphere very uncertain as well. But unfortunately, we’re not guaranteed certainty in politics. We’re just going to go along the best we can and hopefully sooner rather than later Congress will compromise and find a way to fund the government.